/ 


THE 


EDUCATION  OF  THE  NEGRO 

ITS  RISE  PROGRESS  AND  PRESENT  STATUS s 


BEING  AN  ADDRESS  DELIVERED  REFORE  THE 


NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 

At  its  Late  Meeting  at  Chautauqua,  N.  Y., 


BY 

HON.  GUSTAVUS  J.  ORR,  LL.D., 

State  School  Commissioner  of  Georgia. 


0?  '%JS» 


ATLANTA,  GA.: 

JAS.  P.  HARRISON  & CO.,  PRINTERS  AND  PUBLISHERS. 

1880. 


> ' - 


. 


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■ 


5 


11,  ? 

~7  / 

r //*€ 


ADDRESS. 


Jfr.  President,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen; 

I come  before  you  to-night  to  discuss  a subject  of  the  deepest  public 
concern;  and  I am  happy  to  know  that  my  audience  is  composed  of  per- 
sons with  minds  broadened  by  culture,  liberalized  by  learning  and 
capable  of  weighing  properly  whatever  may  be  advanced.  I am  happy, 
moreover,  to  believe  that  sufficient  time  has  now  elapsed  for  reason  to 
begin  to  assert  her  sway,  and  that  men  of  all  sections  of  our  common 
country  are  now  prepared  to  hear  with  candor.  This  I shall  expect  of 
my  present  audience;  and  I do  not  believe  I shall  be  disappointed.  I 
promise  on  my  part  to  exercise  the  same  candor  which  I look  for 
in  you. 

African  slavery,  either  fortuuately  or  unfortunately,  was  introduced 
into  the  colony  of  Virginia  in  the  year  1620— two  hundred  and  sixty 
years  ago.,  Soon  after,  this  example  was  followed  by  the  other  colonies; 
and  not  a great  many  years  had  elapsed  before  every  one  of  them  be- 
came slaveholding.  The  laws  ofclimate,  the  laws  governing  the  remun- 
erativeness of  negro  labor,  and  other  influences  caused  slavery  soon  to 
begin  to  gravitate  Southward;  and  this  movement  continued  till  at  the 
time  the  colonies  declared  themselves  independent  in  1776,  the  great  bulk 
of  the  five  hundred  thousand  negroes  then  in  the  countiy  were  to  be 
fouud  in  the  Southern  States.  The  existence  of  slavery  in  the  South 
formed  the  basis  of  a civilization  in  that  section  entirely  distinct  in 
many  particulars  from  that  found  in  the  Northern  portion  of  the 
Union.  It  early  became  evident  that,  as  in  the  celebrated  instance 
recorded  in  sacred  history,  two  nations,  as  it  were,  were  struggling  to 
the  birth. 

The  difference  in  social  influences,  the  difference  in  moral  teachings, 
the  difference  in  interest,  the  differences  in  the  theories  of  the  con- 
stitution generally  held  in  the  two  sections,  and,  indeed,  the  difference 
in  the  entire  surroundings  separated  very  widely  the  two  peoples. 
Each  section  misunderstood  the  other  in  a hundred  particulars;  and 
the  obstacles  to  a better  understanding  constantly  grew  in  magnitude 
as  time  moved  on.  The  terrible  war  which  followed,  in  which  men  of 
a common  origin,  priding  themselves  in  a common  history,  cherishing 
the  same  glorious  traditions,  and  of  equal  bravery  met  in  deadly  strife, 
—I  do  not  propose  to  trace.  Would  that  the  horrors  of  that  fearful 
period  could  be  buried  forever  in  oblivion,  or,  if  remembered  at  all, 
that  they  might  be  recalled  only  for  the  useful  lessons  which  they 
teach ! I do  not  refer  to  the  subject  to-night  for  the  purpose  of  locating 


4 


the  blame  of  the  fratricidal  strife, — for  Heaven  knows  there  was  wrong 
enough  on  both  sides.  I have  to  do,  rather,  with  the  harmless  race 
who  were  the  innocent  cause  of  the  unhappy  struggle  and  of  all  the 
terrible  sufferings  which  it  entailed.  W as  it  a mercy  to  that  people 
that  they  were  brought  to  these  shores  and  subjected  to  so  many  long 
years  of  servitude?  Was  it  one  of  the  purposes  in  the  Divine  mind 
to  prepare  them,  by  the  stern  discipline  of  slavery,  for  something  bet- 
ter? Was  slavery,  indeed,  the  divinely-appointed  tutelage  by  which 
they  were  to  be  brought  forward  to  a higher  plane  of  civilization? 
These  are  questions  which  deserve  our  thoughtful  consideration,  now 
that  we  have  reached  the  period  of  calm,  philosophic  reflection.  In 
order  to  give  them  a proper  anwer,  let  us  first  consider  the  condition 
of  the  race  in  their  native  home;  and,  secondly,  the  influences,  civil, 
social,  and  religious,  brought  to  bear  upon  them  in  their  long  period  of 
slavery.  We  shall  thus  be  led  to  see  that  slavery  was  a great  educa- 
tor, perhaps  the  greatest  and  most  wisely  conceived  that  could  have 
been  devised. 

As  to  the  low  condition  of  the  Negro  tribes  near  the  western  coast 
of  Africa,  whence  the  former  slaves  of  this  country  were  originally 
brought,  all  authorities  are  agreed.  They  were  simply  savages,  practis- 
ing Feticliism,  the  very  lowest  form  of  idolatry.  They  were  the  slaves 
of  the  most  degrading  superstitions,  believing  in  spells,  charms,  and 
incantations,  and  having  no  system  of  rules  of  conduct  deserving  the 
name  of  a moral  code.  In  regard  to  their  intellectual  condition,,  one 
author  says,  “It  is  impossible  to  name  a region  tolerably  peopled, 
where  any  progress  at  all  has  been  made  in  the  arts,  which  is  so  com- 
pletely illiterate  as  Negro  Africa.  It  is  not  enough  to  say  that  it  has 
neither  books,  authors,  nor  learned  men.  In  no  part  of  this  extended 
region  is  there  an  alphabet  or  a heiroglyphic,  or  even  a picture,  or 
symbol  of  any  description.  All  those  refined  processes  by  which  the 
ideas  of  one  mind  are  to  pass  into  the  minds  of  others  are  entirely  un- 
known.”* 

Now,  I say  nothing  of  the  manner  in  which  these  Africans  were  in- 
troduced into  this  country,  or  of  the  motives  of  those  who  introduced 
them.  With  matters  of  this  kind,  this  discussion  has  nothing  to  do. 
I simply  put  this  question:  Suppose  a population  of  the  kind  above 
described  had  been  set  down  in  considerable  numbers  in  the  midst  of 
a community  well  advanced  in  Christian  civilization,  and  a body  of 
wise,  philanthropic  men  had  been  convened  to  consider  and  report 
upon  the  question  as  to  what  should  be  the  relations  of  this  new  popu- 
lation to  the  community  in  which  they  had  been  introduced,  what  con- 
clusion do  you  suppose  would  have  been  reached?  Would  they  have 
advised  that  these  strangers  be  incorporated  into  the  body  politic  with 
rights  equal  to  those  of  other  citizens?  It  seems  to  me  that,  intelligence 
and  virtue  being  the  recognized  foundation  stones  of  liberal  govern- 
ment, the  wise  men  supposed,  even  looking  to  the  interest  of  the  new 
comers  alone,  would  have  advised  a probationary  tutelage  hedged 
about  with  salutary  restraints,  and  backed  by  the  strong  arm  of  power. 
The  ablest  writers  on  government  of  modern  times,  with  all  the  les- 
sons of  the  past  before  them,  and  enjoying  all  the  advantages  of  the 
advanced  thought  of  the  age,  have  taught  us  that  governments  must 
be  arbitrary  or  liberal,  stronger  or  milder,  according  as  the  people  to 
be  governed  are  ignorant  or  intelligent,  of  feeble  or  strong  moral  prin- 
ciples. The  wise  men  supposed,  in  making  the  recommendation  sug- 
gested, would  have  been  but  conforming  to  these  well  known  teach- 
ings of  our  philosophic  thinkers.  Now,  the  condition  to  which  the 

♦Encyclopedia  of  Geography. — Murray 


5 


slaves  of  the  South  were  ultimately  advanced  did  not  differ  very  largely 
from  the  supposed  condition  advised  by  the  hypothetical  wise  men. 
The  slavery  of  the  South  was  often  denounced  by  -Northern  writers 
and  speakers  as  chattel  slavery,  and  many  persons  throughout  that  sec- 
tion doubtless  fully  believed  that  slaves  were  treated,  under  the  law, 
simply  as  things.  No- greater  mistake  was  ever  committed.  The 
slavery  of  the  South  was  very  far  removed  from  absolute  or  pure 
slavery.  I hope  you  will  allow  one  reared  in  the  midst  of  the  things 
which  he  describes,  to  speak  freely  and  frankly  to  you  of  what  has 
been  familiar  to  him  from  childhood.  I think,  perhaps,  thaj  1 shall  be 
able  to  show  you  that  the  relation  of  the  slave  of  the  South  to  the 
society  of  which  he  formed  a part,  whether  so  intended  or  not  wras 
really  that  of  a species  of  inchoate  citizenship.  It  was  a state  of 
slavery,  indeed,  but  a slavery  with  many  benign  modifications.  The 
three  great  absolute  rights  of  Englishmen— rights  which  belong  to  all 
to  whom  English  institutions  have  descended  as  an  inheritance— are, 
according  to  Blackstone,  the  right  of  personal  security,  the  right  of 
personal  liberty,  and  the  right  of  private  property.  While  it  is  not 
pretended  that  the  Southern  slave  was  permitted  to  enjoy  these  rights 
in  the  sense  in  which  you  understand  them,  yet  I propose  to  show  that 
he  did  enjoy  them  all  in  a modified  sense.  I am  not  a lawyer,  and  there- 
fore do  not  feel  myself  capable  of  presenting  a professional  view  of 
this  part  of  my  subject;  nor  do  I think  that  a presentation  of  that 
kind  would  be  appropriate  or  interesting  to  an  audience  such  as  the 
one  before  me.  1 hope,  however,  that  I shall  be  able  to  give  such  a 
view,  though  unprofessional,  as  shall  make  good  before  you  the  declara- 
tions made. 

“ The  right  of  personal  security  coifcists  in  a person’s  legal  and  un- 
interrupted enjoyment  of  his  life,  his  limbs,  his  body,  his  health,  and 
his  reputation  so  says  the  authority  just  referred  to.  In  a state  of 
absolute  or  pure  slavery  the  subject  of  it  is  divested  of  this  right  in  all 
its  specified  details.  In  the  slavery  of  the  South,  it  was  secured  to 
him  by  legislative  enactment  in  most  of  the  particulars  enumerated. 
The  murder  of  a slave  was  punished  with  death;  and  the  maiming  of 
him  was  visited  with  very  heavy  penalties.  Indeed,  resistance  to  the  in- 
fliction of  these  wrongs  l)3r  a slave,  even  to  the  homicide  of  him  seeking 
to  do  them,  was  considered  by  our  law  as  justifiable.  An  examina- 
tion of  our  Southern  codes  will  further  show  that  all  other  injuries 
done  to  the  person,  not  amounting  to  deprivation  of  life  or  limb, 
such  as  assaulting,  beating,  wounding,  etc.,  when  done  to  slaves  were 
made  penal.  It  is  true  that  the  master  had  the  right  to  correct  his 
slave  for  disobedience,  idleness,  petty  theft,  quarreling,  fighting,  or 
other  offense  of  a sufficiently  serious  character;  but  for  all  cruelties,  or 
needless  and  wanton  punishments  inflicted  by  masters  severe  penalties 
were  provided;  and  so  tender  was  our  law  of  the  rights  of  the  helpless 
slave,  that  in  a contest  with  his  master  it  was  made  the  duty  of  the 
court  to  assign  him  competent  counsel.  For  injuries  done  the  reputa- 
tion of  the  slave  no  redress  was  provided;  but  even  this  omission  was 
not  without  its  reason  as  one  of  the  main  grounds  for  providing  redress 
in  such  cases,  viz.,  the  injury  done  to  one’s  business  and  the  conse- 
quent abridgment  of  his  means  of  support,  did  not  exist  at  all  in  his 
case. 

The  second  great  right  of  the  citizen,  the  right  of  personal  liberty, 
“wdiich  consists  in  the  power  of  locomotion,  of  changing -situation, 
or  moving  one’s  person  to  whatsoever  place  one’s  own  inclination  may 
direct,  without  imprisonment  or  restraint,  unless  by  due  course  of 
law  ” it  was  not  even  sought  to  guarantee  to  the  southern  slave  by  leg- 


6 


islative  enactment.  The  main  design  of  slavery  , being  to  secure  to 
the  master  the  services  of  the  slave,  the  theory  of  the  institution 
seemed  to  require  that  the  former  should  have  the  right  of  directing  and 
controlling  the  movements  of  the  latter,  and  the  law  was  so  framed  as 
to  secure  him  in  this  right.  Almost  universal  usage,  however,  required 
that  this  right  should  be  exercised  in  kindness  and  mercy;  and  in  a 
thousand  ways  the  theoretical  rigor  of  the  law  was  abated  in  practice. 
The  very  largest  liberty  of  locomotion  compatible  with  the  ends  of  sla- 
very and  the  best  interests  of  the  community  as  constituted  was  allowed 
by  all  humane  masters  to  slaves  who  were  faithful  and  who  could  be 
trusted.  It  may  be  further  added  that  while  the  master  had  the  right 
to  control  the  liberty  of  the  slave,  no  other  person  could  do  so  with 
safety;  for  the  master  was  the  legally  recognized  protector  of  the  slave 
and  always  appeared  upon  ihe  scene  when  an  unlawful  attempt  was 
made  to  interfere  with  the  personal  liberty  of  the  latter,  either  to  en- 
force such  legal  remedies  as  were  provided  or  to  extemporize  remedies 
of  his  own  where  the  law  had  provided  none.  One  good  effect  of  this 
control  exercised  by  masters —good  in  its  influence  upon  the  slave — 
stands  out  and  is  patent  to  every  observer,  now  that  slavery  has  been 
abolished.  I refer  to  the  habits  of  industry  thus  generated.  Obser- 
vers from  other  portions  of  the  Union,  Southern  men,  and  even  the 
former  slaves  themselves,  all  unite  in  bearing  testimony  to  the  fact  that 
the  freedmen  trained  up  in  the  days  of  slavery  are  far  more  industrious, 
much  more  thrifty,  and  far  better  laborers  than  those  who  have  grown 
up  under  the  influences  of  their  newly  obtained  freedom. 

It  remains  now  to  consider  the  last  of  the  three  great  absolute  rights 
of  the  citizen , viz. , The  right  o ^private  property,  which  has  been  said  to 
consist  “ in  the  free  use,  enjoyment,  and  disposal  of  all  his  acquisitions, 
without  any  control  or  diminution,  save  only  by  the  laws  of  the  land.” 
This  right,  like  the  last  considered,  did  not  belong  at  all  to  the  slave 
under  the  law.  All  the  acquisitions  of  the  slave,  of  every  kind,  vested 
in  and  belonged  to  the  master,  who  could  use  them  and  dispose  of 
them  in  whatsoever  manner  seemed  to  him  best.  This  is  the  way 
theory  put  it.  There  is  a law,  however,  in  the  presence  of  which  op- 
posing human  enactments  have,  in  all  countries,  and  in  all  ages  of  the 
world,  been  impotent.  I allude  to  the  law  of  a generally  received, 
well  established  public  opinion.  What  the  commonly  received  opin- 
ion requires  to  be  done,  in  any  community,  is  always  done  in  the  ab- 
sence of  laws  which  require  it,  and  even  in  the  face  of  such  as  forbid. 
The  general  sense  of  all  communities  in  the  South  required  that  the 
slave  have  the  right  to  the  full  enjoyment  of  acquisitions  made  in 
time  allowed  him  by  custom,  or  in  time  specially  granted  to  him  ; and 
depriving  him  of  these  acquisitions  on  the  part  of  the  master  would 
have  been  universally  regarded  as  an  act  of  ineffable  meanness.  No 
man  could  do  such  a thing  in  the  face  of  the  outraged  sense  of  right 
in  the  community.  In  practice,  the  condition  of  our  slaves  in  respect 
to  the  wants  usually  supplied  by  the  full  enjoyment  of  the  right  of 
property  was  far  better  than  that  of  the  laboring  poor  in  many  free 
communities.  In  the  first  place,  the  supply  of  all  their  physical  wants 
was  assured  Their  blasters  were  required  by  the  law  to  furnish  them 
with  a sufficiency  of  wholesome  food  and  comfortable  raiment,  and  to 
support  them  in  infancy,  in  sickness,  and  old  age.  The  law  requiring 
this  was  enforced  by  heavy  penalties,  and  the  records  of  the  courts  in 
my  own  State  will  show,  within  my  oWn  knowledge,  that  these  penal- 
ties have  been  enforced  with  the  approval  of  entire  communities.  In 
addition  to  this  sure  support,  it  was  a universal  custom  for  planters  to 
assign  certain  plots  of  ground  to  their  slaves,  giving  to  each  the  usu- 


fruct  of  the  part  assigned  him,  and  the  time,  work-animals,  and  agri- 
cultural implements  necessary  for  its  cultivation.  It  was  a common 
thing  for  the  slaves  to  realize  from  the  sale  of  the  produce  of  these 
plots  of  ground  from  ten  to  one  hundred  dollars  each,  and,  in  rare 
instances,  these  annual  accumulations  have  been  known  to  reach  sev- 
eral hundred  dollars.  Slaves  were  now  and  then  permitted  also  to 
own  a few  swine,  some  fowls,  and  sometimes  a cow.  Their  right  to 
these  little  acquisitions  was  considered  sacred,  and  any  disposition 
made  of  their  effects  by  verbal  will  was  most  religiously  executed. 
Even  as  I now  speak,  one  dusky  face  com&s  up  before  me,  the  face  of 
an  humble  playmate  of  my  childhood,  who,  in  the  days  of  slavery, 
returned  from  a neighboring  State  to  receive  at  the  hands  of  my  good 
step-mother,  acting  as  voluntary  executrix,  a considerable  sum  of 
money’ and  other  effects  left  him  by  the  nuncupative  will  of  his  dying 
mother.  But  I need  say  nothing  further  on  this  head. 

I will  next  speak  briefly  of  the  educational  effect  upon  the  slaves  of 
the  social  life  of  the  South.  I feel  conscious  of  my  inability  to  give  to 
those  who  were  not  of  us  a thoroughly  true  view  of  the  domestic  and 
social  relations  subsisting  between  the  slaves  of  the  South  and  their 
masters.  Perhaps  I can  make  the  nearest  approach  to  this  by  throw- 
ing together  a number  of  seemingly  disjointed  particulars,  trusting  to 
the  effect  which  they  may  produce  as  a whole.  The  domestic  govern- 
ment prevailing  upon  the  plantations  was  largely  patriarchal.  All  dif- 
ferences among  the  slaves,  and  all  minor  offences  even,  such  as  would 
now  be  referred  to  the  courts,  were  brought  before  the  master  for  adju- 
dication, and  were  patiently  heard  and  determined  by  him,  and  with 
much  more  of  justice  than  can  often  be  reached,  in  the  present  condi- 
tion of  things,  before  the  civil  tribunals.  In  cases  of  sickness,  the 
very  best  medical  aid  was  summoned,  and  the  mistress  of  the  house- 
hold often  administered  the  medicines  in  person,  ordered  such  delica- 
cies as  might  be  needed,  saw  that  necessary  attendance  was  furnished, 
and  frequently,  in  extreme  cases,  watched  in  person  through  the  weary 
vigils  of  the  night,  with  the  tenderest  solicitude,  by  the  humble  bedside 
of  the  sufferer.  Throughout  the  hill  country  of  the  South,  embracing 
nearly  one-half  of  that  extensive  territory,  the  labors  imposed  on  the 
slaves  were  light ; and  the  farms  yielded  but  little,  if  anything,  more 
than  a support,  the  owners  relying  for  their  profits  solely  upon  the  natu- 
ral increase  of  their  slave  property.  The  boys,  white  and  colored, 
hunted  and  fished  together,  and  mingled  in  the  same  rural  sports  with 
great  freedom,  the  former,  however,  always  exacting  a deferential  obe- 
dience and  respect,  which  the  latter  were  taught,  from  the  very  cradle, 
by  their  seniors  of  both  races,  to  yield.  The  colored  youth  could  not  fail 
thus  to  take  on  some  of  the  bearing,  to  imbibe  some  of  the  spirit,  and 
to  acquire,  to  some  extent,  the  moral  tone  of  his  white  associate.  In 
like  manner,  female  domestics,  by  rendering  service  in  families  of 
culture,  often  acquired  much  of  the  refinement  of  those  upon  whom 
they  attended,  and,  by  having  a good  example  constantly  before  them, 
learned  much  as  to  the  proper  use  of  the  English  language.  From  the 
intercourse  between  young  masters  and  mistresses  and  their  domestics, 
as  I have  sketched  it,  ties  of  the  tenderest  affection  and  life-long  in 
duration  were  often  formed. 

Among  the  educational  agencies  brought  to  bear  upon  the  slaves  of 
the  South,  I speak,  lastly,  of  the  influence  of  the  labors  of  the  various 
Christian  churches  among  them.  In  these  labors  all  the  churches  of 
the  South  took  a very  deep  interest.  Among  these  churches  I may 
mention,  of  my  own  knowledge,  the  Protestant  Episcopal,  the  Presby- 
terian, the  Baptist,  and  the  Methodist,  as  being  especially  active.  I 


8 


cannot,  perhaps,  in  any  other  way  give  you  as  correct  a view  of  the 
character  and  extent  of  this  work  as  by  stating  certain  great  facts.  I 
may  say,  then,  that  it  was  the  universal  custom  of  all  the  churches  of 
the  South  to  receive  slaves  into  full  and  regular  membership,  that  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  the  colored  church  members  was  looked  after  with 
great  solicitude  by  the  official  members  of  the  different  churches;  that 
the  slaves  and  their  masters  worshipped  in  the  same  houses,  the  only 
distinction  being  that  different  portions  of  these  houses  were  assigned 
for  occupancy  to  the  two  races;  that,  at  the  holy  communion,  they 
partook  of  the  same  elements,  administered  by  the  same  hands,  at  the 
same  time,  but  always  at  different  tables;  that  the  ministers  were  uni- 
versally expected  to  visit  and  labor  with  the  slaves  pastorally,  adminis- 
tering to  them  the  consolations  of  our  holy  religion  in  sickness  and 
burying  them  when  dead;  that,  in  many  places,  special  services,  at 
least  once  on  tbe  Sabbath,  were  appointed  for  the  exclusive  benefit  of 
the  slaves : that  very  generally  Sabbath  schools  were  established  for 
the  religious  instruction  of  the  slaves  in  which  they  were  taught  orally 
from  catechisms  carefully  prepared  by  the  ablest  divines  of  the  different 
denominations,  such  men,  for  instance,  as  Dr.  Winkler,  of  Charleston, 
from  among  the  Baptists,  Dr.  Jones,  of  Georgia,  of  the  Presbyterians, 
and  the  sainted  Bishop  Capers,  of  South  Carolina,  from  among  the  Meth- 
odists; and,  lastly,  that  it  was  the  custom  on  many  of  the  plantations 
for  cultivated  Christian  mistresses  to  assemble,  with  their  own  smaller 
children,  the  younger  servants  of  the  household  on  the  afternoon  of 
the  Sabbath,  and  to  read  to  them  and  expound  the  sacred  oracles,  and 
drill  them  catechetically  for  the  purpose  of  fixing  in  their  memories 
the  precious  truths  therein  inculcated.  I had  hoped  to  be  able  to  give 
you  statistics,  showing  the  scope,  the  extent,  and  the  character  of  this 
great  work.  In  this  I have  been  disappointed,  as  I have  found  it  im- 
possible to  procure  the  necessary  records  from  which  to  obtain  the  re- 
quisite data.  I find,  however,  in  the  life  of  the  late  Bishop  Capers 
certain  definite  information  in  respect  to  the  Misssionary  work  of  the 
Methodist  church  among  the  slaves  in  the  State  of  South  Carolina.  I 
will  occupy  your  time  with  only  two  or  three  great  facts  from  this 
record.  The  good  Bishop’s  heart  was  early  touched  with  Christian  sym- 
pathy for  the  colored  people,  and  he  ceased  to  feel  and  labor  for  their 
welfare  only  when  he  ceased  to  live.  But  to  the  facts.  At  the  earnest 
solicitation  of  this  good  man,  the  South  Carolina  Conference  sent  two 
of  their  number,  for  the  first  time,  to  labor  as  Missionaries  to  the 
blacks  on  the  southern  plantations  in  the  year  1829.  At  the  time  of 
the  Bishop’s  death,  in  1855,  there  were  twenty  six  colored  missionary 
stations  in  South  Carolina  alone,  comprising  a membership  of  11,546, 
served  by  thirty-two  missionaries;  and  the  annual  revenue  raised  for 
the  support  of  these  missionaries  had  reached,  that  year  the  large  sum 
of  $25,000.  The  Methodists  in  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  Georgia, 
Alabama,  Mississippi  and  Louisiana  did,  their  respective  circumstances 
considered,  about  as  well.  The  effective  work  of  the  same  kind  done 
by  the  Baptists  did  not,  perhaps,  fall  a whit  behind  that  of  their  Meth- 
odist brethren,  while  the  Presbyterians,  Episcopalians  and  other  Pro- 
testant churches  did  less,  in  the  aggregate,  only  because  they  were 
weaker  numerically  and  financially.  Eternity  alone  will  disclose  in 
full  the  grand  results  of  these  heroic  Christian  labors  by  the  devoted 
men  and  women  of  the  South. 

You  now  have  before  you  the  educationary  agencies  brought  to  bear 
upon  the  negroes  in  the  days  of  slavery.  The  education  thus  im- 
parted was  not  an  education  of  books,  taught  in  ordinary  schools, 
under  regularly  employed  teachers.  Large  numbers  of  the  best  men 


9 


of  the  South  believed  that  this  latter  kind  of  education  ought  to  have 
been  superadded.  We  did  not  believe  that  any  man  ought  to  be  de- 
nied intelligent,  unaided  access  to  the  sacred  Scriptures,  out  of  which 
he  must  at  the  final  day  be  judged,  or  to  the  statutes  of  the  State  to 
which  he  was  held  amenable;  but  views  of  public  policy  and  of  what, 
in  my  opinion,  it  was  erroneously  believed  the  public  safety  demanded, 
prevailed,  and  the  education  of  books  was  withheld.  The  education, 
however,  which  was  imparted  was  an  education  of  habits  of  industry, 
of  habits  of  obedient  subordination,  of  habits  of  reverence  for  author - 
ity>  human  and  Divine.  Its  fruits  have  been  seen  in  a hundred  forms. 
They  are  seen  in  the  evident  fact  that  the  negroes,  as  a race,  were  far 
advanced  in  the  arts  of  civilization  during  slavery — in  the  fact  that  con- 
siderable numbers  of  the  men  had  become  good  farmers,  good  carpen- 
ters, good  shoemakers,  good  blacksmiths,  good  tailors,  good  artizans, 
.in  short,  in  most  of  the  ordinary  branches  of  useful  industry ; and  in 
the  fact  that  many  of  the  women  had  become  first-class  cooks,  seam- 
stresses, house  servants,  laundry  women,  etc.  It  was  seen,  further, 
that  large  numbers  of  them  had  become  members  of  the  various 
Christian  churches;  and  notwithstanding  their  defective  views  of 
morals  in  some  particulars,  considerable  numbers  of  these  church 
members  were  orderly  in  their  walk  and  gave  unmistakable  evidence 
of  genuine  piety.  The  most  striking  evidence,  however,  of  the  good 
results  of  the  ante  bellum  educationary  methods  pursued  in  respect 
to  the  negro  was  furnished  during  the  late  civil  war.  When  the 
the  South  was  largely  over-run  by  a hostile  soldiery,  when  every  able- 
bodied  white  man  of  that  section  had  been  hurried  to  the  front,  when 
none  were  left  for  the  protection  of  our  women  and  children  but  mere 
boys  and  infirm  old  men,  our  slaves  cultivated  our  fields,  protected 
our  property,  and  stood  by  our  families  in  their  helpless  condition, 
thus  becoming  an  element  of  strength  instead  of  weakness,  of  security 
rather  than  danger.  History  nowhere  furnishes  a more  striking  proof 
of  the  effectiveness  of  the  methods  of  education  pursued  toward  a 
people. 

I have  sometimes  been  asked  by  my  Northern  friends  if  the  slave- 
holders of  the  South,  in  peaceful  and  quiet  times,  did  not  occasionally 
feel  qualms  of  conscience  in  respect  to  their  connection  with  the  in- 
stitution. I answer  that  we  did  not.  We  inherited  the  institution  of 
slavery  and  could  not  have  got  rid  of  it  if  we  had  desired.  We 
saw  it  protected  in  the  fundamental  law;  and  when  we  opened 
our  Bibles  we  read  in  the  Old  Testament  that  God  himself  com- 
manded his  chosen  people  to  make  slaves  of  the  heathen  captured  in 
war  and  to  transmit  them  as  an  inheritance  to  their  children;  and  when 
we  turned  to  the  New  we  saw  that  our  Saviour  did  not  condemn  the 
slavery  by  which  he  was  surrounded;  and  that  those  left  by  him  to 
propagate  the  religion  which  he  came  more  fully  to  expound,  left  on 
record  rules  for  the  government  of  both  mastei  and  slave  (for  so  I 
translate  doulos ),  in  their  intercourse  with  each  other,  without  utter- 
ing a word  of  condemnation.  I do  not  say  that  we  were  right  in  these 
views,  for  I do  not  propose  to  re-open  the  argument  upon  a subject 
now  forever  settled  practically.  I simply  affirm  that  we  were  honest. 
We  would  not  be  worthy  of  the  respect  of  honest  men  if  we  had  not 
been.  Whether  slavery  was  right  or  wrong,  the  slaveholder  who 
stood  in  his  lot,  doing  his  duty  as  he  saw  it,  ought  to  stand  acquitted 
before  men,  as  I am  assured  he  does  in  the  high  court  above. 

I have  already  said  enough,  perhaps  too  much,  upon'  the  first  stage 
of  the  progress  of  the  negroes  or  the  South.  I come  now  to  speak  of 
the  new  era  which  has  dawned  upon  us.  The  four  long  years  of  fratri- 


10 


cidal  slaughter,  which  had  filled  the  whole  land  with  blood  and  every 
house  with  mourning,  were  at  length  ended,  and  with  them  slavery 
was  also  at  an  end.  .No  road  could  have  conducted  to  this  result  but 
that  which  led  through  blood  and  fire.  But  the  result  was  reached. 
The  doom  of  the  institution  was  sealed,  and  “ tekel v was  written  upon 
it.  It  soon  began  to  seem  as  if  it  had  but  run  the  brief  career  intended 
fdr  it  in  the  beginning.  Providence,  like  prophecy,  is  a thousand  fold 
better  interpreted  as  we  look  hack  upon  it  in  the  past  than  when  we 
attempt  to  scan  its  future  purpos'ings.  Men,  who  had  hitherto  looked 
upon  the  institution  of  slavery  as  intended  by  the  Divine  Mind  to  be 
perpetual,  soon  began  to  suspect  that  the  purpose  was  to  make  it  sim- 
ply disciplinary  from  the  beginning.  To  trace  this  surmise  from  the 
stage  of  the  conjectural  till  it  ripened  into  firm  conviction  in  the 
minds  of  many  of  our  best  thinkers,  would  constitute  a pleasing  psy- 
chological study ; but  the  work  before  me  is  practical,  and  it  will  be  far 
more  profitable  and  instructive,  perhaps,  to  trace  the  difficulties 
through  which  the  white  people  of  the  South  had  to  pass  before  they 
had  obtained  their  full  consent  for  the  negro  to  go  forward  from  the 
education  of  habits,  of  kindly  influence  and  of  oral  methods  to  the 
higher  education  of  books  and  of  whatever  is  opened  up  to  the  mind 
therein;  and  this  I shall  now  attempt  to  do. 

It  will  be  recollected  that  under  the  reconstruction  policy  of  Presi- 
dent Johnson,  the  principal  thing  required  of  the  Southern  States,  in 
order  to  their  restoration  to  their  former  relations  to  the  federal  gov- 
ernment, was  to  call  conventions  and  formally  acquiesce  in  the  aboli- 
tion of  slavery.  The  right  to  frame  their  own  fundamental  law  as  to 
other  particulars,  and  to  fashion  their  own  institutions,  wTas  fully  con- 
ceded. Outsiders  are  but  poorly  prepared  to  appreciate  the  great  hard- 
ship of  acceding  to  the  condition  in  respect  to  the  abolition  of  slavery. 
It  required  Southern  men  to  give  up  the  firm  conviction  of  their  minds 
— a conviction  which  had  become  a part  of  their  religious  faith— that 
slavery  was  a Divine  institution  and  intended  to  be  perpetual.  It  in- 
volved the  sacrifice  of  property  which  had  always  been  protected  by 
the  sacred  guaranties  of  the  Constitution,  and  which,  in  many  cases, 
constituted  the  accumulations  of  a lifetime.  It  was  the  passing  from 
aflluence  to  poverty,  from  a life  of  ease  and  plenty  to  a life  of  priva- 
tion and  hardship ; from  honor,  as  it  appeared  in  the  eyes  of  many,  to 
dishonor.  The  people,  howover,  rose  to  the  requirements  of  the  emer- 
gency, and  the  sacrifice  was  made  with  cheerfulness  and  resignation. 
The  Southern  States  generally  called  conventions,  as  required,  and 
made  the  change  in  the  fundamental  law  which  was  demanded. 

This  reconstruction,  which,  at  the  time,  was  considered  a finality, 
was  hardly  consummated  before  it  was  followed  by  the  Congressional 
plan  which  contained  much  harder  exactions.  The  new  reconstruction 
set  aside  all  that  was  done  under  the  presidential  plan,  established  tem- 
porary military  governments,  enfranchised  the  recently  liberated  slaves 
and  disfranchised  perhaps  a third  of  the  white  citizens,  including  large 
numbers  of  the  best  men  among  us,  required  the  calling  of  new  con- 
ventions the  delegates  to  which  were  to  be  chosen  by  the  constituency 
created  under  the  act  forming  the  plan,  while  the  conventions  thus  to 
be  called  wrere  notified  in  advance  that,  as  a condition  precedent  to  the 
exercise  of  future  self-government,  they  must  put  all  the  changes 
above  set  forth  into  the  fundamental  law.  The  hardness  of  these 
terms  which  were  clearly  extra-constitutional  and  which-  rested  for 
their  validity  §olelyupon  the  rights  of  the  conqueror,  was  intensified 
by  the  fact  that  men  from  the  States  recenly  hostile  to  us — not  liberal, 
cultivated  gentlemen  like  those  before  me — but,  in  many  cases,  very 


11 


bad  men  came  down  among  us  and  took  control  of  the  newly  created 
political  neophytes  for  the  purpose  of  using  them  to  promote  their 
own  selfish  ends.  I do  not  refer  to  these  things  in  any  spirit  of  bitter- 
ness; for  whatever  of  bitterness  I may  have  felt,  thank  God,  has  long 
since  given  way  to  a better  state  of  feeling.  I refer  to  them  simply 
from  their  necessary  connection  with  my  subject.  Now  I put  this 
question  to  the  intelligent  audience  before  me.  Is  it  surprising  that 
among  a proud-spirited  people,  a people  that  had  gloried  in  their  free- 
dom, hot-headed  men  were  to  be  found,  who,  in  their  desperation, 
were  driven  to  acts  of  violence?  There  were  such  acts;  but  their  num- 
ber and  atrocity  have  been  magnified  a thousand  fold.  Is  it  surprising 
that  the  feeling  of  bitterness  toward  the  authors  of  this  new  plan  of 
civil  re-liabilitation  should  have  been  transferred,  to  some  extent,  to 
the  people  whom  the  plan  suddenly  lifted  from  the  condition  of 
slavery  to  the  condition  not  only  of  voters  but  of  legislators  and  office- 
holders? It  is  very  plain  to  all,  now  that  the  passions  of  the  times 
have  to  a large  extent  subsided,  that  mistakes,  grevious  mistakes, 
were  made.  Candid  northern  men  will  now  admit  that  the  bestowal 
of  the  full  rights  of  citizenship  upon  a people,  ninety-nine  out  of  every 
one  hundred  of  whom  were  wholty  illiterate,  whose  habits  of  subordi- 
nation, however  valuable  they  may  have  been  in  a state  of  slavery, 
constituted  but  a Door  preparation  for  the  exercise  of  the  functions  of 
freemen,  was  badly  judged  and  entirely  premature.  It  was  a hazard- 
ous experiment  and  was  relieved  from  fatal  results,  perhaps,  only  by 
the  kindly  feeling  between  the  white  and  colored  races,  still  subsisting 
to  a considerable  extent,  which  had  been  engendered  and  nurtured  in 
the  days  of  slavery.  I know  that  the  problem  before  the  people  of  the 
North  was  a very  difficult  one,  and  that  some  allowance  ought  to  be 
made  on  that  account.  I know,  further,  that  it  is  but  candid  to  admit 
that  the  hardn«  of  the  terms  finally  imposed  upon  the  people  of  the 
South  grew  paray  out  of  certain  legislation,  which  was  ill-judged  and 
to  some  extent  illiberal  to  the  freedmen,  by  the  State  governments 
brought  into  existence  under  the  presidential  plan.  It  was  further 
thought  by  northern  men  that  the  exercise  of  the  right  of  suffrage  was 
itself  to  some  extent  educational,  and  that  the  possession  of  the  right 
was  necessary  to  the  freedmen  in  order  to  self-protection.  I can  read- 
ily understand  how  patriotic  men,  with  inadequate  views  of  the  con- 
dition and  character  of  the  freedmen,  and  with  minds,  perhaps, 
insensibly,  under  bias,  might  have  been  led  into  the  mistakes  thus  com- 
mitted. 

The  conventions  provided  for  in  this  second  reconstruction  assem- 
bled and  did  their  work,  and  this  work  was  universally  ratified  by  the 
constituencies  created  for  that  purpose.  All  of  the  constitutions  thus 
formed  required  the  establishment  of  public  schools,  free  to  all  the 
children  irrespective  of  race.  Legislatures  were  soon  convened  which 
passed  laws  for  carrying  this  requirement  into  effect.  There  were 
great  difficulties  in  the  way  of  enacting  and  sustaining  these  laws  and 
of  putting  them  into  successful  operation,  some  of  which  you  will  be 
able,  to  some  extent,  to  understand  when  I state  them  briefly. 

It  was  known,  in  a general  way,  and  universally  felt  that  the 
destruction  of  property,  during  the  war,  had  been  immense.  The 
exact  losses,  however,  were  not,  at  that  time,  known.  The  census  of 
1870  fully  revealed  them  by  showing  that  the  aggregate  value  of  all 
property  in  the  fifteen  former  slave  States  had  been  reduced,  in  the 
preceding  decade,  to  three-fifths  of  its  entire  amount,  while  the  same 
reduction  in  the  eight  cotton  States  was  ghown  to  be  to  about  three- 
eighths.  The  effect,  on  the  public  mind,  of  these  immense  losses, 


12 


which  was  rather  increased  than  diminished  by  their  vagueness,  stood 
in  the  way  of  obtaining  appropriations  for  any  purpose 

In  the  next  place,  our  people  knew  nothing  of  the  benefits  of  public 
schools  and  of  their  immense  superiority  in  a hundred  particulars, 
when  adequately  supported  and  wisely  administered,  to  the  best  man- 
aged private  schools.  From  the  beginning,  the  latter  had  been  the 
only  educational  agencies  known  to  our  people,  the  different  States 
having  done  nothing  for  the  education  of  the  masses  except  to  raise 
funds,  from  time  to  time,  for  the  education  of  the  poor.  This  mode 
of  educating  our  children  had,  therefore,  throughout  all  the  past, 
been  so  thoroughly  identified  with  all  our  usages  as  to  have  become’ 
seemingly,  almost  an  essential  part  of  our  social  life.  You  will  readily 
understand,  then,  how  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  appropriations  of 
money  was  enhanced  when  these  appropriations  were  asked  for  a 
measure  which  was  not  only  opposed  to  long  standing  usage,  but 
which  in  the  popular  mind  was  of  very  questionable  utility. 

I might  mention  as  additional  difficulties  the  manner  in  which  the 
new  constitutions  were  put  upon  us,  the  fact  that  all  the  property  and 
nearly  all  the  intelligence  belonged  to  the  opponents  of  the  new  edu- 
cational policy,  and  the  further  fact  that  more  than  half  of  the  chil- 
dren to  be  provided  for  were  children  of  parents  owning  nothing  that 
could  be  taxed 

Great  as  were  these  difficulties,  there  were  among^us  those  who  en- 
deavored to  take  a philosophic,  statesman-like  view  of  the  situation. 
We  saw  that  the  organic  law  could  be  changed  again  only  by  the  new 
constituencies  that  had  been  created — a fact  that  rendered  change  hope- 
less. It  thus  seemed  clear  that  no  steps  would  be  taken  backward. 
Those  newly  invested  with  all  the  rights  of  full  citizenship  were  evi- 
dently destined  to  the  perpetual  enjoyment  of  these  rights.  We  then 
began  to  consider  how  we  could  render  the  state  o fallings  by  which 
we  were  surrounded  more  tolerable.  We  undertook  to  examine  for 
ourselves  the  new  school  policy  which  had  been  inaugurated.  We 
saw  that  by  the  superintendency,  State  and  county,  which  it  created, 
public  attention  would  be  turned  to  the  subject  of  education,  and  thus 
a much  wider  interest  would  be  awakened,  much  more  thorough  work 
would  be  done,  and  that  this  work  would  he  done  much  more  econom- 
ically. We  found  out,  further,  that  poor  as  we  were,  the  best  way  to 
add  to  our  wealth  was  to  increase  the  number  of  educated,  intelligent 
producers.  We  began,  further,  to  ask  ourselves  such  questions  as 
these  : Shall  the  million  and  a half  of  colored  children  of  school  age, 
destined  hereafter  to  wield  influence  as  citizens,  be  permitted  to  grow 
up  in  hopeless  illiteracy  ? Shall  the  one  third  part  of  the  white  school 
population,  children  of  parents  now  very  nearly  as  poor  as  the  freed- 
men,  be  left  to  the  same  fate  ? Would  not  our  institutions  thereby  be 
imperiled  ? Can  free  governments  exist  at  all  with  constituencies  in 
proportions  so  large,  debased,  and  illiterate  ? Some  of  us,  in  calmly 
considering  the  arguments  hinted  at,  and  in  seeking  to  find  answers 
to  the  questions  propounded,  came  to  the  conclusion  that  what  had 
been  done  by  our  conventions  in  respect  to  the  school  policy  had  been 
wisely  done.  The  conviction  became  very  deep  with  us  that,  in  the 
altered  condition  of  our  people,  the  only  hope  left  us  was  to  do  all 
that  could  be  done  towards  elevating  the  masses,  irrespective  of  race ; 
and  this  conviction  we  prornptly  followed  out  in  earnest  action,  We 
went  before  the  people  and  sought  by  tongue  and  pen  to  impress  upon 
them  the  new  views  which  had  taken  possession  of  our  own  minds. 
The  results  were  marked.  With  the  fundamental  law  on  our  side,  we 
succeeded  in  keeping  alive  the  feeble  systems  that  had  been  inaugu- 


13 


rated,  sj^stems  making  no  discrimination  as  to  race.  We  not  only  kept 
them  alive,  but  we  succeeded  in  continually  making  small  additions  to 
their  efficiency.  By  these  means  we  continued  to  receive  accessions  to 
our  strength,  till  at  the  end  of  the  first  decade  after  the  second  recon- 
struction, when  new  conventions  were  called,  in  which  the  old  element 
of  our  population  had  full  and  entire  sway,  the  public  school  policy  was 
re-incorporated  in  the  new  constitutions,  and  these  new  constitutions 
were  ratified  by  overwhelming  majorities. 

The  adoption  of  these  constitutions  marks  the  era  of  the  admission 
of  the  negro,  with  the  free  consent  of  the  white  race,  to  the  full  rights 
of  citizenship,  including  the  right  to  free  education.  The  great  moral 
revolution,  which  had  been  in  progress  for  nearly  two  decades,  was 
now  fully  accomplished.  I have  endeavored  to  show  you  the  difficul- 
ties through  which  it  was  necessary  to  pass  before  this  end  could  be 
reached.  It  only  remains  now  for  me  to  speak  of  educational  results — 
of  what  has  been  actually  accomplished.  I may  state,  then,  that  we 
have  made  a brave  beginning.  While  what  we  have  done  may  not  be 
anything  to  boast  of  in  itself,  yet,  considered  in  the  light  of  the  sur- 
roundings, we  are  not  ashamed  of  it.  We  have  given  to  the  negro  in 
our  constitutions  and  in  our  statutes  equal  educational  rights.  We 
have  sought,  in  administering  these  statutes,  to  hold  the  balance  evenly. 
I can  say  for  myself  that  there  is  noihing  in  my  official  career  of  which 
I am  prouder  than  the  universal  recognition  of  the  truth  of  this  state- 
ment in  respect  to  my  own  administration  by  my  colored  friends  in 
Georgia.  Large  numbers  of  our  colored  people  have  learned  to  read 
and  to  write  and  to  make  easy  calculations.  They  have,  moreover, 
been  taught  something  of  the  history  of  this  great  country,  and  of  the 
geography  of  this  and  other  lands,  and  of  the  structure  of  the  English 
language."  In  our  cities,  our  schools  are  kept  up  from  eight  to  ten 
months  of  the  year;  but  in  country  places,  the  terms  are  necessarily 
short,  being  only  from  three  to  five  months.  What  we  do,  however, 
for  one  race,  the  same  we  do  for  the  other.  I had  hoped  to  give  you 
full  statistics  of  the  work,  and  to  this  end  Corresponded  with  the 
superintendents  of  the  fifteen  former  slave  States,  and  also  with  the 
honored  superintendent  of  the  District  of  Columbia;  but  in  this  I am, 
to  some  extent,  disappointed.  Some  furnished  me  full  reports,  some 
partial;  others  estimated,  the  enrollment  of  the  races,  in  the  last  named 
cases,  not  having  been  kept  separate.  I select  a few  of  the  first,  and 
give  the  figures : 

In  Virginia,  beginning  with  the  year  1871,  the  colored  enrollment 
for  successive  years  was  as  follows:  38.554,  46,736,  47,169,  52,086, 
54,941,  62,178,  65,043,  61,772,  35,768.  In  South  Carolina  the  same  en- 
rollment from  1870  has  been,  15,894.  33,834,  38,635,  46,535,  56,249, 
63,415,  70,802,  55,952,  62,120,  64,095.  In  Georgia,  beginningin  1871  and 
omitting  1872,  when  there  were  no  public  schools,  the  same  record  reads, 
6,664,  19,755,  42,374,  50,358,  57,987,  62,330,  72,655  while  in  Mississippi, 
beginning  with  1875,  the  same  figures  were,  89,813,  90,178,  104,777, 
111,796.  The  only  year  for  wffiich  my  correspondence  enables  me  to 
present  the  grand  aggregate  for  the  entire  South  was  the  year  1878. 
The  attendance  for  this  year  foots  up  the  astonishing  sum  of  738,164, 
the  reports  being  accurate  for  all  the  States  except  Arkansas,  Florida, 
and  Louisiana,  in  which,  as  already  stated,  careful  estimates  were  made. 
When  confronted  by  a record  like  the  foregoing,  achieved  in  the  midst 
of  the  difficulties  that  beset  us  on  every  side,  as  a friend  of  the  colored 
race  I thank  God  and  take  courage! 

You  desire,  doubtless,  to  hear  something  now  in  respect  to  the  higher 


14 


education.  In  regard  to  this,  I can  give  but  few  facts.  Such  . 
are,  I present  them  almost  in  the  very  words  of  my  corresponded 

The  State  of  Maryland  appropriates  $2,000  per  annum  for  the  sup- 
port of  a normal  school  for  the  training  of  colored  teachers. 

Virginia  sets  apart  $10,000  per  annum  out  of  the  proceeds  of  the 
land  scrip  donated  by  Congress  for  the  support  of  the  school  at  Hamp- 
ton. 

Claflin  University,  now  united  with  the  Colored  Agricultural  Col- 
lege, and  located  at  Orangeburg,  receives  from  the  State  of  South 
Carolina  $7,500  per  annum. 

Georgia  pays  out  of  her  Treasury  to  Atlanta  University  $8,000  a 
year,  in  discharge  of  the  equitable  claim  of  the  colored  people  to  par- 
ticipation in  the  land  scrip  fund. 

The  average  expenditure  of  the  State  of  Mississippi  upon  the  higher 
institutions  for  the  education  of  the  negro  is  about  $10,000  per  an- 
num. 

The  new  constitution  of  Louisiana,  adopted  in  1879,  provides  that 
the  General  Assembly  shall  establish  in  New  Orleans  a university  for 
the  education  of  persons  of  color,  and  make  an  annual  appropriation  * 
for  its  support  of  not  less  than  $5,000,  nor  more  than  $10,000. 

Missouri  appropriates  $5,000  per  annum  to  the  Lincoln  Institute,  a 
school  for  the  training  of  colored  teachers. 

In  addition  to  what  has  been  done  by  the  States,  very  large  sums 
have  been  expended  by  the  American  Missionary  Society,  the  Freed- 
man’s Aid  Society,  the  Baptist  Home  Missionary  Society,  and  other 
charitable  and  religious  associations  of  the  Northern  States,  for  found- 
ing and  sustaining  higher  institutions  of  learning  for  colored  youth.  I 
have  not  the  facts  before  me  which  would  enable  me  to  go  into  details 
as  to  what  has  been  accomplished  by  all  these  agencies.  I know  that 
many  of  these  institutions  are  doing  valuable  work.  I have  myself 
witnessed  examinations  in  Atlanta  University  upon  the  higher  branches 
of  study  which  were  creditable  alike  to  both  pupils  and  instructors; 
and  I am  in  frequent  receipt  of  letters  from  colored  men  and  women 
which,  in  respect  to  orthography,  punctuation,  construction  of  sen- 
tences, and  the  other  requirements  of  ordinary  epistolary  writing, 
would  compare  favorably  with  other  writings  of  that  class.  I am  satis- 
fied that  the  colored  race,  through  the  agency  of  these  higher  institu- 
tions, is  making  decided  progress. 

I have  now  finished  the  work  of  this  hour.  I have  sought  to  trace 
the  progress  of  the  colored  race  from  the  state  of  barbarism  in  which 
they  reached  these  shores  to  their  present  greatly  elevated  and  im- 
proved condition.  I have  endeavored  to  point  out  the  various  agencies 
that  contributed  to  their  advancement  even  when  in  a state  of  slavery. 

I have  tried  to  place  in  a clear  light  the  almost  super  human  difficulties 
which  had  to  be  encountered  and  removed  in  bringing  them  through 
the  recent  stages  of  their  progress,  and  I have  stated  honestly  and 
fairly  what  progress  has  actually  been  made.  Whether  they  shall  ever 
be  prepared,  in  mass,  for  the  intelligent,  efficient,  satisfactory  discharge 
of  the  functions  of  citizenship  is  a question.  I believe  they  will,  in 
spite  of  the  mistakes  that  have  been  committed,  if  the  States,  the  gen- 
eral government  and  the  various  Christian  churches  shall  do  their  full 
duty  in  the  matter.  That  overruling  Providence  which  has  shaped  the 
events  of  the  past  will  not  abandon  them,  or  us,  if  we  act  like  true 
men  and  Christians.  In  view  of  the  mode  of  their  introduction  among 
us,  and  of  the  condition  in  which  they  were  so  long  kept  by  laws  sanc- 
tioned by  the  representatives  of  the  entire  people,  and  of  the  manner  in 


15 


which  their  emancipation  was  effected,  we  of  the  South  believe  that 
the  duty  of  providing  the  means  of  pieparing  them  for  citizenship  be- 
longs to  the  whole  country.  We  ourselves,  however,  have  a duty  to 
perform  wrhich  we  do  not  intend  to  shirk.  I think  I can  speak  for  the 
entire  South,  when  I say  that  we  are  determined  to  stand  by  all  that 
has  been  done.  They  have  been  declared  free:  to  this  we  most 
heartily  consent.  They  have  been  admitted  to  all  the  rights  of  citizen- 
ship : in  this  we  acquiesce.  Our  State  constitutions  and  our  laws  have 
declared  that  they  shall  be  educated  : to  bring  about  this  result  we  will 
do  all  that  in  us  lies. 


